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General Hospital
General Hospital (commonly abbreviated GH) is an American daytime television medical drama. It is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the second longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns. It premiered on the ABC television network on April 1, 1963. Broadcast weekdays and currently repeated nightly on SOAPnet, it is the longest-running serial produced in Hollywood, and the longest-running entertainment program in ABC television history. General Hospital rose to the top of the ratings in the early 1980s in part thanks to the monumentally popular "supercouple" Luke and Laura, whose 1981 wedding brought in 30 million viewers and remains the highest-rated hour in American soap opera history. In 2003, TV Guide named General Hospital the 'Great Soap Opera of All Time.' In 2007, General Hospital was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-''TIME''." General Hospital was created by husband-and-wife soap writers Frank and Doris Hursley, and is set in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York. It was only the second soap to air on ABC (after the short-lived Road to Reality, which aired for several months during the 1960-61 season). Currently taped at The Prospect Studios, General Hospital originally aired for a half-hour. The series was expanded from 30 minutes to 45 minutes on July 23, 1976, and then to a full hour on November 7, 1977. It holds the record for most Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, with 10 wins. In 1964, a sister soap was created for General Hospital, The Young Marrieds. It ran for only two years, and was cancelled due to low ratings in 1966. General Hospital also spawned a prime time spin-off with the same name in the United Kingdom from 1972 to 1979, as well as the daytime series Port Charles (1997–2003) and the prime time spin-off General Hospital: Night Shift (2007–2008) in the United States. On September 18, 2009, when Guiding Light aired its final episode on CBS Television, General Hospital became the second longest running American soap opera currently on air, after As the World Turns. On December 8, 2009, CBS announced that they were cancelling As the World Turns and its final episode aired on CBS on September 17, 2010. General Hospital then became the longest running daytime soap opera still featuring on American television, having aired continuously since April 1, 1963, and the British soap opera Coronation Street became the world's longest-lived soap opera currently airing on television, having been on air since 1960. Background Launched in 1963, the shows' storylines revolve around the fictional city of Port Charles, New York, and the staff at its General Hospital. Initially focusing on the romances of the hospital staff, storylines branched out to cover relationships of various families such as the Hardys, the Webbers, the Spencers, the wealthy Quartermaines, and the noble Cassadines. General Hospital popularized the concept of the soap opera super couple, with Luke and Laura. Their wedding was the most watched event in daytime serial history. Other storylines have followed an action-adventure format, with con artists and mafia bosses, spies and corporate intrigue, and travel to far-off lands, but nearly all stories have some connection to either an injury or illness at the Hospital, or one of the doctors or nurses who work there. For the past 2 decades, GH has followed the storylines of mob boss Sonny Corinthos, and most past storylines have linked to him in some way. Cast Contract cast members Recurring cast members Comings and goings =References=